Chapter 159

[How is it, Warrior? I'm the best, right? Right? I'm the best, right?]

This crazy…

I lifted the chattering holy sword and briefly stood in confusion .

To think it could release this power irrespective of its wielder's will .

What's worse, the intellect behind its will seems to be sharp .

[As I thought, you'd prefer a woman's voice over my performance, Warrior? Please don't worry, Warrior . Until now, whenever I had a chance, I have been practicing . Ah, ah . Tee-hee . ]

[TL Note: I omitted the “tee-hee” thing in a previous chapter . He only said it once in that chapter . At the time, I didn’t really find a good way to depict his attempt at cutesy speech . ]

It didn't have the intelligence of a human, but rather was at the level of an orangutan whose head was hit by a rock .

It also talks .

Though it mostly spewed out mumbo-jumbo .

I can't use this weapon however I wish, so it wouldn't fit into the category of a normal weapon .

If I mishandle it, or if there's discord between us, I could hurt myself with it; but how would anyone be able to use this thing in the first place?

However, despite that…

Rumble-

The lofty rampart is collapsing .

The soldiers under the collapsing rampart were buried under a mound of rubble and wordlessly crushed to death .

After the primary damage caused by the falling rocks, the small hill of debris surged towards the surrounding soldiers like a landslide and likewise crushed them .

The warriors hurriedly moved from their positions, so that they wouldn't be buried as well .

I heard the screams and moans from the warrior whose hand I sliced off, as well as from the soldiers who had lost their comrades .

[Tee-hee?]

This crazy…

You're saying that this is a holy sword?

I feel like it's something that I have to throw into the pits of Mount Doom .

[PR Note: Mount Doom is a Lord of the Rings reference . It’s a big scary volcano with a lava pit at its peak . ]

However, I still have a reason to not roughly throw this sword away .

Bzzzt . Bzzzzz .

I examined the sword that rang out with a sound similar to purring .

I regret that this sword had settled in and found its rightful place in my hands .

I'd like to immediately throw away the sword in my hand .

However, this sword would definitely split even the sky as a result .

The warrior who had lost his hand and was crying…

I now know why the warrior who had lost his hand and was crying had been so confident .

Also, I understood why he was so easily worked up and when he became agitated, why his hand went to the hilt of the sword .

If you were to suddenly acquire this strength overnight, you'd definitely be like that .

If I were to think about that Warrior's level, he must've felt like he had become a god overnight .

"It's definitely a demonic sword . "

[I'm disappointed, Warrior . I really am a holy sword . In fact, I've received a blessing from the God of the Sky . ]

I have no idea what the God of the Sky was thinking .

The god's blessing may have enhanced the sword's power, but this sword is definitely not a sacred sword .

It was a sword that drove its wielder to his death .

I felt that it was fortunate that this sword had been sealed in the basement of the capital .

If this sword had been dropped in the middle of the continent, there would be a countless number of deaths in that region .

The Empire might've summoned the warriors because they didn't want to give this sword to one of its knights .

It was an absent minded notion , but when I thought of it that way I really felt that it was truly how things were .

[I love you, Warrior . I'm not just saying this because I'm in your hand . When I was in that half-wit's hand, do you know how much I tried to reach you? Tut . That half-wit wouldn't listen to a word I said . ]

"What did you do then?"

[Uh, Oh? Hahaha . It's a secret . I love you . Warrior . ]

Looking at how this guy talks, it seems like he urged that Warrior to fight with me .

I really should throw it into a volcano; I feel like this sword is fit to be dropped into lava .

That's what I thought .

[Tutorial, Hell Difficulty 26h floor, perfect clear . ]

[All status effects and injuries are healed . ]

[You have received 5000 points for clearing the floor . ]

[You have received 5000 points for being the first to clear the floor . ]

[Many gods react positively to you . You have received 9000 points . ]

[Many gods react negatively to you . 300 points have been deducted . ]

[All of the Gods of the Temple of the Hundred Gods are watching you . ]

[TL Note: Changed White Holy Temple to this . White Holy Temple was an incorrect translation, but I got lazy and copy-pasted the original translation . I’m really unsure when I should change terms that people are so used to, but this one REALLY bothered me . I try not to change the previous translators’ translations . ]

[The God of the Sky would like to gift you a divine item instead of an additional reward . Would you like to accept?]

[Live Voting Results: 20 For . 19 Against . ]

[The God of Light would like you to become his disciple . ]

[Would you like to undergo the test to prove your worthiness to become a disciple?]

Messages started to appear tumultuously .

A perfect clear .

The Demon King had drawn out his true power, but I had defeated him alone .

In the process of getting the holy sword, not only did I not receive the trial of the holy sword, but it cornered the original owner into a deadly situation as well in order to be owned by me .

They were definitely conditions for a perfect clear .

The next thing I have to check is . . . the bonus rewards and the disciple offer .

First I'll check out the bonus rewards .

"I accept . "

[The Holy Sword of the Sky, Ahoubuch has been acquired . ]

. . . Holy sword?

The message appeared and at the same time, the holy sword in my hands disappeared .

I opened my inventory .

It was there .

The holy sword was in my inventory .

[The Holy Sword of the Sky, Ahoubuch]

Explanation: The God of the Sky, in order to punish arrogant humans, gifted this sword to the most arrogant of humans, the Empire's Emperor . The Emperor who had received the present, and the next representing Emperor, and the next representing Emperor, and the next representing Emperor were all swallowed up in a series of incidents caused by the holy sword and died .

As I thought, it's a holy sword in name only .

Its actual effect wasn't very different from the biblical story of God's flood that punished humans .

To have killed four generations of Emperors, what exactly did this sword do?

While that was happening, the Empire could neither discard the sword nor break it .

I don't know if it was due to the sword's overwhelming power or that they didn't want to anger the god, but this sword is definitely a demonic sword .

I should just shove this into my inventory and leave it .

Aside from the sword's heinousness, this sword has an excessively high degree of power .

If I use it immediately, tremendous results would be shown, but I won’t have the opportunity to grow for quite some time .

Of course, if it were a normal challenger, they'll just think of it as a tremendous reward .

I think that the gods fixed the balance so that twenty five people would proceed through the stage .

However, if I draw out the maximum strength of this sword, I won't be able to face any danger that’s actually dangerous for quite some time .

It's an excessive reward for me .

The next thing I had to check was the disciple offer .

The God of Light had offered me to become his disciple .

I pondered briefly and after I made my decision, I put it off .

I hadn't replied to the God of Death's offer to become a disciple yet .

I'll get some advice from Kiri Kiri and carefully make my decision .

Of course, in order to get advice about the gods, as well as information on them, I'll have to wait a long time though .

Rather than lacking in strength right now, I’m actually overflowing with power .

The stage had increased in difficulty and that's what I had wanted, but I didn't have a reason to obsess over possibly getting a new god skill .

I would first have to improve my own abilities .

Then, I can just receive the authorities after that .

I finished sorting everything out and saw the portal .

Should I depart immediately?

"Warrior . "

Behind me, I heard a voice I hadn't been thinking about .

It was Seregia .

"Ah, Lady Seregia . You have worked hard all this time . Thank you for taking care of me . "

"I'm sorry?"

"I think I'm going to head out now . It seems like this is where we part ways . "

Seregia, who had been behind me, stood in front of me, and said, "Can't you take me with you?"

"Yes . That's a little…"

"Warrior . "

"Yes?"

Seregia spoke with a serious expression .

It seemed that she had her usual expressionless face, but after seeing it several times, I could tell the differences between them .

"You said last time that so long as I don't die, you can't take me with you . "

"Yes… I did say that but…"

That's a bad habit .

It might've been because I've spent so much time alone, but after all the tension is gone, my thoughts just spew out sometimes .

Talking to myself was bad in various ways .

Let's fix that soon .

"If that's really the case, I'll die and follow you . "

"… Lady Seregia . "

"Warrior, look at that . "

The moment I was going to try to convince the insisting Seregia, Seregia pointed behind her .

The fortress had collapsed and the soldiers were dying .

Using the pretext of helping the soldiers, the warriors were running away from us .

Rather than saving the soldiers, it looked like they were running away from me no matter who saw it .

"You said that if I wanted to follow you, I had to die, Warrior, but even if I don't follow you, I'll die . Even if I somehow escape from here, I'll be chased . "

That's probably the case .

If Seregia is left alone like this, she will be pursued by the Empire .

Also, she'll harbor the crime of destroying the fortress and stealing the holy sword all by herself .

She'll definitely die, 100% .

I was scratching my head and Seregia took out a dagger from her chest .

"As I said, I'll die and follow you . "

And she forcefully stabbed her chest .

Blood spurted out from her chest .

I sighed .

I thought she would die because she was so bold .

Seregia didn't die .

Although it may look like it, the dagger hadn't pierced her heart .

I didn't need to use my elixir . If Seregia just uses the health potion that she has, she can sufficiently treat the wound .

Of course, if she just left it alone like that for a long time, she could die from excessive bleeding .

"Warrior . "

Seregia may have thought about it like this:

My path is too dangerous and that I couldn't bring her along .

So, if she didn't have the resolve to die, I couldn't bring her with me .

So she showed that she was prepared to die if need be .

However, that's not it .

I really can't take her with me unless she dies .

"Lady Seregia . Are you really prepared to die?" I asked abruptly .

Honestly, I didn't think it'd be much of a problem .

Personally, there was only a faint boundary between life and death .

Whether that line actually existed was the question .

That's why I was ready to take her with me if she wanted to .

That's why I could ask her so easily .

If she would really die .

"As I had said, even if I stay here, I'll die . "

So that I could progress the conversation quicker, I gave her a clear explanation .

"Lady Seregia . If you go with me, it won't be that it'll be so dangerous that you'll die . For starters, if you want to go with me, you have to die . "

"… Is it necromancy?"

"No . Rather than that, it's closer to the art of death . "

[TL Note: Korean doesn’t really have a lot of proper “fantasy” words, so they borrow terms from other languages . In the previous sentence, the author uses the borrowed Korean term for necromancy while in Seregia’s dialogue, ‘necromancy’ is spelled out how it would be pronounced in English . ]

Seregia briefly stood wordlessly, all the while the dagger was still lodged in her chest .

"Think about it slowly . I can at least give you enough time to think about it . "

While Seregia was thinking about it, I also thought about it .

About what decision she'd make .

She'd probably stab herself .

If I were her, that's what I'd do .

With a soft squelch, the dagger lodged in her chest wedged all the way in until the hilt .

She pierced her heart .

[Soul Siphon]

I wanted to reduce her pain at least a little so I activated Soul Siphon .

After she had pierced her heart, Seregia was exposed to Soul Siphon and quickly died .

[Soul Collect]

I verified that Seregia's soul had been collected and I tried summoning her soul .

Seregia's form appeared in midair .

Compared to the other small palm-sized souls, Seregia's soul was as big as a forearm .

If we exclude the fact that she looks slightly blurry, she looked exactly like she did when she was alive .

"How do you feel?"

[I feel great . If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have hesitated and I would've died sooner . ]

Seregia moved her body here and there and started to drift around as if she were swimming .

She adapted really quickly .

I looked at Seregia, who was muttering some nonsense while flying around her surroundings, and stepped atop the portal .

"Teleport . "

I left the 26th floor stage and moved to Kiri Kiri's field .

As usual, it was a peaceful and beautiful field, but there a few things that caught my attention .

To be exact, two things .

The first was that Seregia, who had been floating in the air beside me, disappeared .

The second was that I didn't see Kiri Kiri .